Box



April 7, 1970 K. WOLBERS 3,504,321

BOX

Filed July 6, 196'? United States Patent O'fi Patented Apr. 7, 1970 iceUS. Cl. 22043 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A box with a bottomsection and a cover section fitting about said bottom section, whichcover section has a pivot on said bottom section in order for the box tobe opened when pressure is exerted on an edge thereof. The cover isprovided with an indentation so that the upper rim of the bottom sectionmay be gripped between the sidewall of the cover and said indentation inthe snapped-open position of the box, thereby prevent ing the bottomsection from slipping out of the users hand.

This invention relates to a box having a tilting cover. A box of thiskind is known and is especially used for shoe polish, wax and similarmaterials. This known box comprises a bottom section and a cover fittingabout said bottom section in telescopic fashion, the side Wall of saidcover being slightly off-set radially inwardly at at least three pointsspaced from the lower edge thereof within a peripheral sector of thecover to provide a stop for the cover in its closed position to abutagainst the upper edge of the bottom section, and at the same timeprovide pivots thereon so that, when the sector of the cover locatedopposite the said peripheral sector of the cover is pushed further overthe bottom section, the cover is caused to tilt out of its closedposition about the line of separation between the two sectors.

It is drawback of such a box that, when it is pressed open, the boxsections easily slip from the hand, as a result of which the contents ofthe box may drop on the floor, or some other inconvenience may becaused. This hampers the use of such box. It is an object of theinvention to obviate this drawback.

A box according to this invention is characterized in that a projectionfacing the inside of the box is embossed in the upper section of thecover adjacent the periphery radially opposite the first-mentionedperipheral sector in which the inwardly off-set portion of the side wallis located, said projection, when the cover is tilted to its openposition, engaging the bottom section at the inner side of theperipheral edge thereof.

As a result of this, the cover and bottom sections are automaticallypressed into an interengaging position when the box is forced open. Withthe coherence resulting from that interengagement, the box sections canbe readily and reliably held in one hand by mere pressure of thefingers.

It can be required of the type of box referred to in the beginning ofthis specification, wherein the lower edge of the side wall of the coveris headed radially outwardly and the bottom section is provided with aradially outwardly projecting peripheral pilot edge which slidably fitsagainst the inner side of the wall of the cover, that it ensures a goodsealing of the contents and still admits of being easily opened andclosed, that it sulficiently retains its form to prevent cracks in themass with which it is filled and to preserve its good sealing propertiestogether with its easy manner of opening and closing, and that it can bemanufactured in a very eflicient manner, while maintaining a uniform andhigh quality.

The prior art boxes of this type do not meet all of these requirements.Therefore it is a further object of this invention to make improvementsin this respect as well. To that effect, according to this invention,the peripheral pilot edge of the bottom section is constituted by theoutwardly beaded upper rim of the bottom section, the box consists ofrelatively thin material, and the angle at the center of the peripheralsector containing the radially inwardly off-set portions of the sidewall of the cover is considerably more than This lastmentioned featurereduces the risk of an unintended loosening of the bottom and coversections to a minimum. In a bottom section which is capable of beingmade in a single punch-and-draw stroke, the beaded mating surface comesup to very strict tolerances, so that an accurate fit in the cover,which is likewise capable of being made in a single punch-and-drawstroke and provided with a beaded edge, is ensured at all times. Thebeaded edge further imparts sufficient, yet resilient, dimensionalstability to the bottom section and the cover, even if these sectionsare made of thin tinplate. Such dimensional stability is of courseimportant for maintaining the good properties of the box during itslife. The resiliency is important to meet simultaneously the requirementof proper sealing, which calls for a tight connection between the pilotedge of the bottom section and the wall of the cover, and a rather deeptelescopic sliding of the cover over the bottom on the one hand; and therequirement that the box can be easily opened as the cover is beingtilted on the other hand which requires deformation of the cover and thebottom section relating to each other, because during the tiltingsliding-oh movement of the cover the line of contact between the pilotedge of the bottom section and the Wall of the cover is disposed in aplane which extends obliquely to the axis of the cover, and the coverdoes not tilt about a center line of the pilot edge owing to theposition of the tilting axis, which is defined by the said sector angle.

It is favorable to the said resilient dimensional stability that theinwardly olf-set portions of the side wall of the cover at at leastthree points in the first-mentioned peripheral sector of the coverconstitute a side wall portion which is continuously off-set inwardlythroughout said peripheral sector, while the beaded edge of the bottomsection can rigidly abut throughout the peripheral length of that sectorin the corner of the profile formed in the side wall of the cover, andcan still be released therefrom comparatively easily, partly because ofthe very slightly conically flaring configuration which is typical of aproduct obtained by drawing.

It is further favorable to the resiliency-dimensional stability effectthat the side wall of the cover merges into the upper surface of thecover via a peripheral wall zone farther off-set radially inwardly thansaid first-mentioned side wall portions, and that the bottom surface ofthe bottom section is arched inwardly or outwardly from the periphery.

Both the bottom section and the cover can be made in a cost-savingmanner in one stroke, while the beaded edges permit the use of thintinplate, which 011 the one hand is also economical and on the otherhand allows the combination of the technical advantages describedhereinbefore, the pivots are rigid, the risk of damage to the tinplateand the lacquer during punching is negligible, and the risk of damage tothe lacquer in the form of scratches any sharp edges might cause whenthe boxes are sorted out afterwards in a sorting machine does not existbecause the boxes do not have sharp edges. This absence of sharp edgesalso enhances the safety in manufacturing, filling and using the boxes.Since the box section does not have a furrow or groove, but an entirelysmooth side wall, the box can be easily emptied.

In illustration of the present invention one embodiment will now bedescribed, by way of example, with reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a top view of this embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a section taken along the line IIII in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is a similar section with the cover tilted to the open position.

The box includes a bottom section 1 which is provided with an outwardlybeaded end edge 2 of the side Wall 3 which, via an upwardly and inwardlyolf-set marginal zone 4, merges into a bottom 5 shown in the drawings asa plane surface, which bottom, however, may also be somewhat archedeither inwardly or outwardly, as is shown by the broken lines 6 and 6'.

A cover 7 is similarly constructed with an outwardly beaded end edge 8of the side wall 9 which, in a higher peripheral zone 10, is ofl-setradially inwardly throughout the larger peripheral sector locatedbetween points 11 and 12, and thus forms a stop shoulder 13 by which thecover 7 bears on the beaded edge 2 of the bottom section in the closedposition of the box. In a transition zone 14 between the side wall 9 ofthe cover and the upper surface 15 of said cover, the side wall is againoff-set radially inwardly. The upper surface 15 fits within the marginalzone 4 of the bottom section 1, which facilitates stacking of the boxes.The transition zone 14 is locally shifted farther inwards and embossed,so that the upper surface 15 has an off-set portion. This off-setportion indicates the place where the cover and the bottom sectionshould be further compressed for the box to be opened, and constitutes aprojection 16 facing the inside of the box, which projection, as mayappear from FIG. 3, fits the bottom section 1 behind the beaded edge 2when the box is pressed open, thus preventing the cover from sliding offthe bottom section. When the box is being opened, the cover tilts aboutthe pivots on the beaded edge 2 which are formed by the ends of theradially inwardly ofi-set peripheral zone located at 11 and 12. Thebroken line 17 shows an inwardly arched configuration for the uppersurface, which is necessary for the outwardly arched construction of thebottom section as shown by the broken line 6' in order for the boxes tobe properly stacked.

I claim:

1. A box comprising a bottom section and a cover fitting about saidbottom section in telescopic fashion,

said cover having a side wall slightly off-set radially inwardly at atleast three points spaced from the lower edge thereof within aperipheral sector of the cover to provide a stop for the cover to abutin closed position against the upper edge of the bottom section and atthe same time provide pivots thereon so that, when the sector of thecover located opposite the said peripheral sector of the cover is pushedfurther over the bottom section, the cover is caused to tilt out of itsclosed position about the line of separation between the two sectors,said cover having an upper section and a projection facing the inside ofthe box in said upper section in the region adjacent the peripheryradially opposite the first-mentioned peripheral sector in which theinwardly off-set portion of the side wall is located, said projectionextending inwardly a sufiicient distance such that when the cover istilted to open position, said projection engages the bottom section atthe inner side of the peripheral edge thereof whereby the cover isprevented from sliding off the bottom section.

2. A box as claimed in claim 1 wherein said side wall of the cover has alower edge which is beaded radially outwardly, the bottom section beingprovided with a radially outwardly projecting peripheral pilot edgewhich slidingly fits against the inner side of the wall of the cover,said peripheral pilot edge of the bottom section being constituted by anoutwardly beaded upper rim of the bottom section, said box consisting ofrelatively thin material, the angle at the center of the peripheralsector containing the radially inwardly ofl -set portions of the sidewall of the cover being considerably more than 3. A box as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said inwardly off-set portions of the side wall of thecover at at least three points in the first-mentioned peripheral sectorof the cover constitute a side wall portion which is continuouslyofi-set inwardly throughout said peripheral sector.

4. A box as claimed in claim 1 wherein the side wall of the cover mergesinto the upper surface of the cover via a peripheral wall zone fartheroff-set radially inwardly than said first-mentioned side wall portions.

5. A box as claimed in claim 1 wherein the bottom surface of the bottomsection has an arched configuration.

References Cited FOREIGN PATENTS 196,720 3/1938 Switzerland.

JAMES B. WARBERT, Primary Examiner

